July 15, 1999 - A new political poll shows Minnesotans would vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush over Vice-President Al Gore --if the Presidential election were held today. The results put Bush ahead of Gore among likely Minnesota voters, but they also have Gore running ahead of presidential hopeful Elizabeth Dole.
July 15, 1999 - Residents of Isabella and Burntside Lake in northeast Minnesota have long wanted to trade their unpredictable radio phones for regular phone service. Now their wish has been granted. Following an investigation, the state's Public Utilities Commission ruled the local phone service provider, GTE, MUST supply the residents with standard phone service and at regular rates, something people in the area southeast of Ely say they've been too long without.
July 15, 1999 - A California judge has set bail at one million dollars for Kathleen Soliah, the Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive who has been living in the Twin Cities for most of the last twenty years. Soliah, known in Minnesota as Sara Jane Olson, faces charges of placing bombs under Los Angeles squad cars in the mid-seventies. Prosecutors unveiled some of the evidence in the case for the first time, while her friends and family members painted a picture of a devoted wife and mother they said could never turn to violence.
July 15, 1999 - MPR’s Brent Wolfe reports on Minnesota's Habitat for Humanity chapters dedicating their 500th house…this one in Winona. The non-profit group uses volunteer labor and donated materials to build homes for low income families.
July 16, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura reiterated familiar themes during his "Lunch with the Governor" broadcast from the St. Cloud State University campus today.
July 16, 1999 - MPR’s Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, where a severe windstorms that ripped through northern Minnesota in July 1995, leaving destruction in Itasca State Park with thousands of lost trees. Park officials say the destruction is now bringing new life.
July 16, 1999 - A new poll indicates Republican U.S. Senator Rod Grams will have a tough battle getting re-elected next year. The Minnesota Public Radio - KARE-TV - St. Paul Pioneer Press poll found Grams fails to get a majority of voter preference against any potential Democratic challenger and a Reform party candidate.
July 16, 1999 - Supporters of Kathleen Soliah are raising money on two fronts - to get her out of jail, and to pay her legal fees. Soliah - known in Minnesota as Sara Jane Olson - remains in a Los Angeles jail on charges of planting pipe bombs under police cars in the mid-70s. Contributions are pouring in, largely from people who've known her only as Sara Jane Olson.
July 22, 1999 - A plan for light rail transit in the Twin Cities is begining to take shape. The LRT corridor management committee met this morning to agree on a budget--446 million dollars, and a route--from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America. There will be 15 stops in all instead of the original 18. To stay within the budget, the committee scaled back the number of stations and size of the trains. State Transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg says the proposed changes will save an estimated 50 to 70 million dollars.
July 22, 1999 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on the history of tribal government in Minnesota, and its potential changes.